International Captain

The Broncos have pulled off a coaching coup to secure the services of former Kiwis and Warriors assistant Kelvin Wright to lead their NRLW side to back-to-back premierships.

Wright has been announced as the Broncos NRLW head coach after stints as New Zealand’s assistant coach under Stephen Kearney in 2014-15 and the Warriors’ second-in-command in 2015-16.

Most recently, Wright was in charge of New Zealand’s 2018 international women’s side, the Kiwi Ferns, and was head coach of the inaugural Tweed Seagulls female squad this year.

His appointment at the Broncos comes after premiership-winning coach Paul Dyer stepped aside this season to focus on his full-time role as the club’s Game Development Manager.

Wright said expectations would be high for the Broncos this season following their historic 34-12 NRLW premiership win over the Sydney Roosters last year.

“It was a bit surreal at first to be honest,” he said of being made the Broncos’ head coach.

“Just being the Broncos, they have such a rich history so I was really honoured and privileged. In saying that though, I’ve got to knuckle down and do the hard work and make sure I get the job done.

“I believe the other teams are going to come out better prepared (to what they were last year) and stronger as well.

“We’ve got to concentrate on our own performances and our own standards.

“Expectations will be really high. We’ll just be starting again.”

Last year’s Broncos women’s side included representative stars Ali Brigginshaw, Brittany Breayley, Meg Ward and Stephanie Hancock, who will each be hoping to re-sign with Brisbane again this year.

Wright said the first step in his new role was gaining contracts for “a majority” of last year’s squad.

“They had a fantastic squad last season and looking forward to hopefully having a majority of those players back,” he said.

“I’m really honoured to get to coach some of these players. They’re such an intelligent group and hopefully take them a step forward in their careers.

“Last year’s NRLW, I thought overall it was an absolute great success.

“It put women’s rugby league on the map, which has been a long time coming.

“It was a very entertaining competition. Again, we’ll be doing our part at the Broncos to take that to another step, in the quality of play, entertainment and making sure we put the best game on show.”

Wright has had a mixture of success in his coaching career, most notably assistant coach to New Zealand’s historic 2015 Anzac Test defeat of Australia at Suncorp Stadium.

Last year, his Kiwi Ferns side were narrowly defeated by Australia in the thrilling Trans-Tasman Test and he hopes to bring some of his experience to the Broncos.

“I’ll add my own touch to the team,” he said.

“Obviously challenging players to improve. We’ll be looking at all areas across the park to make some small improvements.

“We’ve got a great platform there from last season but we’re going to have to start again.”